Archive for the ‘artists’ tag

The motto for Streetmosphere is, “Expect surprise around every corner,” and the group, Viewsic Art, represents that to a T. Viewsic combines beautiful music and singing, with the artistic stylings of Streetmosphere solo artist, Chris Bates, for an overall unique performance.

Set up in Old Town Square this past Sunday, Viewsic Art drew in a crowd of curious bystanders. Some members of the crowd danced, clapped or sang along to the music, while others stopped to admire Chris’ artwork. Whatever they did, the audience as a whole was completely captivated by the performance.

When you become a street musician, you want your performance to be memorable. You want people to stop, watch, listen, and groove to the music. You want people to take pictures, grab your flyers, and tell their friends. You want to entertain, and you want to do it well, obviously.

No one masters the art of street performance better than Streetmopshere’s Fort Collins Four Tuba Quartet. The quartet played outside of Cache Bank this past Friday evening.

Their first attention getter: they are a quartet of three members. This isn’t entirely true, but it happened to be the case Friday night, which was highly confusing to the people on the streets of Fort Collins. The Four Tuba Quartet played for three hours with only three tubas… a trio, according to most dictionaries. Their fourth band member had prior commitments, but that didn’t prevent the three remaining tuba players from pouring their heart and soul into their performance.

The Honey Gitters' guiar player, Greg, sings to the crowd using a megaphone.

Front Range Village, located south of Old Town on Harmony and Corbett Drive, is the perfect place to escape for the day. The Village has places to eat, shop, relax, and as of last weekend, watch performers display their talents. That’s right, Beet Street’s signature program, Streetmosphere, has expanded to Front Range Village for the first time ever!

With a new location, new crowds, and new surprises, Streetmosphere experienced a weekend of “firsts.” The Honey Gitters, along with ARCINDA and Susan K. Dailey, were the first of Streetmosphere’s dedicated musicians and artists to test out the new location.

Sunday afternoon was a host to great weather, bustling crowds, and of course Streetmosphere!! Along with many other performers with Streetmosphere on Sunday, The Seers entertained crowds downtown at Old Town Square.

The Seers, a rock/blues duo, is comprised of two talented musicians, Brian Collins and Sean Waters, who perform on guitar and piano, as well as sing. They perform many pieces they have written themselves and even take song requests!

MDT3, with a special guest (right center), in front of Mo's Bar-B-Que on Friday night.

This past Friday, I began my internship with Beet Street. What a fun night to start out!There were performances and artists to pique anyone’s interest. My favorite, however, had to be MDT3.

MDT3 is a jazz trio made up of Ron Holleman (trumpet), Chuck Landgraf (drums), and Tim Gauthier (guitar). These gentlemen have been involved in the Colorado jazz scene for quite some time now and they each belong to multiple bands besides MDT3. They name their group after Ron’s marquis instrument: the Morrison Digital Trumpet (MDT). Though Ron is a very talented trumpeter, he played the MDT just about as often as he did his traditional instruments on Friday.

Not all Streetmosphere fans come out on two legs. Usually, there’s more than one furry, four-legged friend in the crowd, and the last weekend of June was no exception. One of our most dedicated fan-dogs is a little grey terrier named Ike.

Ike, along with his owner, loves to experience the sights and sounds of Downtown. Whether it’s a visual artist painting, such as the lovely Ren Burke, or the whimsical sounds of Fiddle Whamdiddle, Ike is always more than happy to visit. His owner mentioned that he loves to be downtown, and that coming out for Streetmosphere has become a weekly ritual.

Only in Fort Collins can you expect to find a surprise around every corner. That’s Streetmosphere’s slogan, and we’re sticking to it!

The program just completed its seventh weekend of performances in Old Town, Fort Collins. Despite some bad weather and some smoky air, we couldn’t be more pleased with the performances, the artists, and the crowds that have come out to support Streetmosphere every weekend.

All these feelings of nostalgia prompted the “street team” to dig deeper—to uncover the things about Streetmosphere and Fort Collins that are truly different than anywhere else in the world. It wasn’t difficult to find these things; in fact, the list had grown exponentially after just one day of observation.

Bright colors, towering animal faces, and wood chips lined College Avenue this weekend, while as many as 4 artists worked away with Half Moon Arts. The local non-profit, run by Rose Moon, works with at-risk youth, ages 13-21, to create an environment both artistic and imaginative.

The program utilizes the process of making totem poles to inspire the participants. From a log of wood, they carve out a unique world, followed by a heaping amount of colorful paint. Creativity is highly encouraged, helping to promote self-esteem and healing. The work produced by these amazing young people sells through local events, allowing for feelings of accomplishment and success. The organization has been commissioned to make totem poles for many organizations in town as well, such as the Fort Collins Cat Rescue.

Ukulele strums could be heard throughout Old Town Square Saturday afternoon, followed by a smooth voice singing the words to Paramore’s “The Only Exception”. This unlikely combination resulted in a unique cover by Florida native, Carolyn Lauttenbach, which had crowd members of all ages nodding, clapping and dancing along. Throughout the rest of the set, Carolyn did a mix of classic and popular covers, as well as original material, occasionally trading the ukulele for an acoustic guitar.

Have you had the chance to check out Elyse Miller performing for Streetmosphere yet? If your answer is no, you’re missing out.

Elyse Miller is one of Streetmosphere’s toughest and most dedicated musical artists. Back in May, she would play her guitar through the night despite icy fingers and the risk of frostbite. Now, seven weeks later, Elyse Miller is still braving the elements. This past weekend she conquered the heat; she tucked herself subtly into the shady space between Moe’s Barbeque and Pueblo Viejo, plugged in her fan, and played for hours.

But Elyse Miller is anything but subtle. On Saturday, her voice drifted through the hot air and attracted the attention of many a passerby. (Fellow Streetmosphere musicians, Peter and the Wolves, even stopped by to listen!) Elyse sang many of her own original songs, including titles like “New Life” and “Paper Doll” but also covered some songs by a wide range of artists, such as Green Day and Tom Petty.